And so it begins...

[Throttlemeister]

I never can figure out why so many people avoid the cheapest gas in the world Venezuela has much more to offer than whay you may have heard about the country, I find it no more dangerous than any other SA country save for Caracas and even I wasn{t killed when I was there over a week. Just common sense like anywhere else

The travel is free there, why not is? The Los Andes, the Gran Sabana, and Angle Falls are calling. I headed back in a few more days to the land of free gas

At least you aren{t avoiding Colombia, its a crown jewel of SA

Nearly 5 months here in Colombia and still loving it

John somewhere deep inside Colombia planning for my escape to Venezuela once more.

[poolman]

This sounds like the beginning of an amazing journey, I'm looking forward following vicariously.

Love the bikes too!

[slide]

Originally Posted by Throttlemeister

I never can figure out why so many people avoid the cheapest gas in the world Venezuela has much more to offer than whay you may have heard about the country, I find it no more dangerous than any other SA country save for Caracas and even I wasn{t killed when I was there over a week. Just common sense like anywhere else

The travel is free there, why not is? The Los Andes, the Gran Sabana, and Angle Falls are calling. I headed back in a few more days to the land of free gas

At least you aren{t avoiding Colombia, its a crown jewel of SA

Nearly 5 months here in Colombia and still loving it

John somewhere deep inside Colombia planning for my escape to Venezuela once more.

Isn't Angel Falls, the highest in the world, located in Venezuela?

[Throttlemeister]

Originally Posted by slide

Isn't Angel Falls, the highest in the world, located in Venezuela?

yea my spelling does it no justice Angel is right when angle is not

Venezuela shouldn{t be missed imho

[Malindi]

Originally Posted by Throttlemeister

I never can figure out why so many people avoid the cheapest gas in the world Venezuela has much more to offer than whay you may have heard about the country, I find it no more dangerous than any other SA country save for Caracas and even I wasn{t killed when I was there over a week. Just common sense like anywhere else

The travel is free there, why not is? The Los Andes, the Gran Sabana, and Angle Falls are calling. I headed back in a few more days to the land of free gas

At least you aren{t avoiding Colombia, its a crown jewel of SA

Nearly 5 months here in Colombia and still loving it

John somewhere deep inside Colombia planning for my escape to Venezuela once more.

I spent 3 weeks in Venezuela once and hated every day of it. YMMV

[Toadride]

Not sure how we got from the gas incident to Venezuela but I'm in. Hope to be moseying (sp?) along soon myself so I'll be watching with some interest. What's your time frame and how far are you going? I am a little surprised you are heading south with spring just arriving. Gonna be HOT!

[Malindi]

Originally Posted by Toadride

Not sure how we got from the gas incident to Venezuela but I'm in. Hope to be moseying (sp?) along soon myself so I'll be watching with some interest. What's your time frame and how far are you going? I am a little surprised you are heading south with spring just arriving. Gonna be HOT!

We're going all the way around, so to speak. Check the countries list (http://www.nohorizons.net/2012/countries.html)

We wanted to leave in time to have time in the Galapagos, Cordillera Huayhuash and Patagonia to hike.

[Throttlemeister]

Originally Posted by Malindi

I spent 3 weeks in Venezuela once and hated every day of it. YMMV

Whoa, surely wasn{t on a bike I hope
Must have been in Caracas trapped like a rat.

Pure joy at the gas pump always brings a smile and the bike only opens up the beautiful country to exploration

Safe travels on your route

[Supahflid]

I am so in! Good luck and be safe!

[BikerGeek99]

Originally Posted by Supahflid

I am so in! Good luck and be safe!

+1

[Malindi]

Originally Posted by Throttlemeister

Whoa, surely wasn{t on a bike I hope
Must have been in Caracas trapped like a rat.

Pure joy at the gas pump always brings a smile and the bike only opens up the beautiful country to exploration

Safe travels on your route

Caracas, the island, at sea.... nope, didn't like it one bit. Never did gas up. Cheapest gas I ever had was in Iran. $2.33 for 11.43 gallons (43 liters) on the G/S. Worst gas price was Turkey at the time 1.36 Euro per liter. This was in 2006.

[Malindi]

May 2, 2012 - We stopped in Reno for lunch and pushed on to Carson City, NV. In the evening I touched base with Bob Fleischer, a local BMW legend, to get some ideas as to good roads around the area. We got some excellent recommendations and our first stop the next morning was Virginia City, NV, on the way around Lake Tahoe.

Although not a ghost town per se, the place sure felt like it. Part authentic, part modern, the proverbial Sheriff sign creaking in the wind, a laptop was deftly handled by the clerk inside, dressed in a vintage cowboy outfit.

The old school had been turned into a museum and entering it was a step back in time.



The main classroom was largely intact.



Expressions of love and boredom from the back row.



A few more pictures from Virginia City can be found here.

Lake Tahoe was a cold affair. The weather was not very warm and the views were so-so. We crossed the pass at Mt Rose and we had to stop to warm up. Emerald Bay was the most scenic part but didn't warrant a picture given the weather. A visit to Bob Fleischer gave us more insight into local riding knowledge.

On May 4th, we rode to Mono Lake instead of our planned itinerary to go to Yosemite via hwy 120. It was closed. As were highways 4 and 108 we found out later when we tried to make our way to Yosemite. We were clearly too early in the season.

Mono Lake is quite nice. It's a volcanic saline lake in which brine shrimp seem to thrive. The whole area was deserted and comfortably barren. Two million migratory birds make the lake their temporary home to feed on the brine shrimp.



A few more pictures can be found here.

Next stops are Yosemite and San Francisco. We are ready for some warmer weather.

[Throttlemeister]

Originally Posted by Malindi

Caracas, the island, at sea.... nope, didn't like it one bit. Never did gas up. Cheapest gas I ever had was in Iran. $2.33 for 11.43 gallons (43 liters) on the G/S. Worst gas price was Turkey at the time 1.36 Euro per liter. This was in 2006.

I take it you where on a boat then instead of a bike? I can see what you mean about coming into port there

Got you beat Twice so far I was given full tanks of fuel on my g/s (39liters for a single), like having Hugo for a fuel sponsorship It makes my travel budget go a long damn ways

Maybe see you around down further South or on that PanAm side, I've kinda homesteaded down here over these last few years coming and going

Can't miss a pair of old gs bikes with hpns too easily.

[$kywalker]

Have a great trip. Take your time and keep posting. I will be following with keen interest!

Luke

[Malindi]

May 5, 2012 - Cold was the theme of our ride to Yosemite today. It took 20 mins to get Jan's bike started as the temperature was nearer freezing than we cared for.

A quick bite and off we were, on the way to Sonora Pass to cross the Sierras towards Yosemite. At the top, we stopped to take some pictures and minutes later were paying homage to our engines, praying to the almighty BMW gods, or so it must have seemed to a few skiers pulling up to park next to us. We were both kneeling next to our bikes, gloved hands wrapped around the protruding engine to try and extract some warmth for near-frozen extremities. It was just below freezing and with the wind-chill, it was less than comfortable. Add to that the numerous frozen patches of runoff and we were in 100% attention mode on the switchbacks.



When someone tells you absolutely have to see this or that movie, and you do, there is always a sense of disappointment, the whole thing being oversold and not in line with your expectations. I felt the same seeing Yosemite. It was nice, nothing wrong with it, in a Disney sort of way, but it's not a place I would make a detour for again.



I shot a slew of pictures and decided to delete just about all of them, converting some to black and white to create somewhat of an effect over and above the standard postcard shot.
In the evening, we stayed in a place at Angels Camp, from where we rode straight to San Francisco the next day.